As ThaumCraft 3 is finally in a public release, and completely 100% public downloadable, I feel that it's time to share some information about the week or two prior to the public release candidate:
I was a ThaumCraft 3 beta tester.
Azanor himself contacted me through YouTube a while ago and invited me to participate in the beta testing of the mod. Of course, I immediately said yes. ThaumCraft 2 was one of my favourite mods ever, so how could I pass up such a rare and cool proposition?
The testing came with a few rules. No distributing the mod, no telling anyone, and no videos. As I've said, she's public now, so I guess I can tell you. If not, sorry, Azanor!
We were given access to the mod in it's beta form, and the subsequent almost daily updates, bug fixes and changes, a changelog, and a super exclusive IRC chat for the beta testers, along with a server to share thoughts, and to report bugs. I remember now that I'd made an aspect generator on there. It was almost automatic.
You may recall that Azanor in his sneak peek videos made a crucible by putting a shard in a cauldron, then waving the wand. However one of the recent MC patches makes it so that items bounce on top of cauldron. Since, Azanor has let us just right click an empty crucible. One of my contributions to the mod. :) I spotted a couple of other bugs, but they mostly have to do with the researchable items. No spoilers here. :P
A lot of the items and machines from TC2 haven't made it to TC3 (yet), but a lot of stuff has been added that's new, such as Golemancy. I feel some things didn't make the cut. Seals have been completely removed. Taint's gone, vis plays a minor role. The research system has been totally revamped to incorporate aspects.
I wanted to get around to pushing the limit of the golems navigation skills, but I've been busy. For anyone interested, what I would've done is basically set up an obstacle course of sorts, with pressure plates and pistons, closing, opening, changing paths, and perhaps lifting or dropping the golem onto different levels. Yes, my brain is crazy. As a beta tester, your prime focus is to break whatever it is your testing. :)
From a survival gameplay perspective, here's my take:
Research can get tedious. Collecting items with as many varied aspects as possible is a good way to go early on, but I think in the late-game you'll want to turn your attention to bottled aspects. I ended up having a chest next to my table full of useful materials and essentias, to methodically sift through once the aspects I'm currently researching get greyed out.
There aren't very many things in the mod that'll change the way you play in general. Spelunking was overpowered in TC2, especially if you had nearly all the items, like I did in my LP series, but this mod adds just a few items, like a staff that blasts rocks to bits. Portals are gone, along with the concept of seals completely. Taint's gone, and Vis now plays a minor role.
Essentially what I'm saying is that the majority of the mod is inside your alchemy lab, filling small dusty phials with the essence of your items. I hope that Azanor adds something to make us want to explore, like the obelisks of TC2. Perhaps openable with certain aspects? Hm, that's actually a good idea. I might see if I can contact Azanor about that one.
